Martha and the muffins
Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian band that had their greatest hits in the 1970s and 1980s . Stylistically, the group can be located in the field of synth-pop , rock and new wave . Her biggest chart success with number 10 in the UK charts was the title Echo Beach in 1980 .
history
The band came together in 1977 when Martha Johnson (born December 18, 1950 , in Toronto ), Mark Gane , David Millar , Carl Finkle , Tim Gane and Martha Ladly met and began to play together at shows in Toronto. Although there were two Marthas in the band, lead singer Martha Johnson was the namesake of the band. However, Millar left the band within the first year. In 1978 they released their first independent single , "Insect Love," which immediately earned them a deal with Virgin Records (now part of EMI ). The following year her debut album "Metro Music" was released , which contained an international hit with "Echo Beach" . In the same year saxophone player Andy Haas joined the band, and drummer Tim Gane was replaced by Nick Kent .
In 1980 the second album "Trance and Dance" was released, but it was not very successful and no longer contained a hit single. Martha Ladly left the band, Tim Gane returned as drummer. In 1981, Carl Finkle was replaced by Jocelyne Lanois , the sister of music producer Daniel Lanois . Daniel Lanois also produced the new album "This is the Ice Age" . The two songs "Women Around the World at Work" and "Swimming" became catchy tunes that were often played on the radio. The 82 album "Danseparc" was produced again by Daniel Lanois; Haas and Tim Gane left the band, and Gane was replaced by Dick Smith . During this time the name of the band was officially changed to M + M , although the album cover had both the designation "M + M" and "Martha and the Muffins". The album was unsuccessful and in 1983 the band fell apart. Martha Ladly moved to England, where she worked in the background of the Associates . She later sang in the backing band of Robert Palmer . Jocelyne Lanois appeared in 1989 as a member of the band "Crash Vegas" again in the Canadian hit parade. Ladly is now a design instructor at the Ontario College of Art and Design.
Martha Johnson and Mark Gane continued to play together under the name "M + M". In 1984 they released the album “Mystery Walk” as a duo, which in turn was produced by Daniel Lanois and gave them their greatest success in those years with “Black Stations / White Stations” , an anti-racism hymn. This song became a smash hit in Canada. It stormed the dance music charts in the United States, but was banned from many radio stations nonetheless. "Cooling the Medium" , the second single from the album, was also successful in Canada. In 1985 Johnson and Gane went to Bath , England to work with producer David Lord . This resulted in the album "The World Is a Ball" , which, however, sold poorly and allowed the duo to return to Canada.
After that it was quiet until 1992 when they revived the name "Martha and the Muffins" for the album "Modern Lullaby" - but not the original band. Again, this album was only a moderate success, and Johnson and Gane focused on other projects and have not released any new material as a duo other than a bonus single on a compilation album since 1998.
In 2003 there should be a reunion of Martha and the Muffins. In 2005 they played a few concerts in Toronto, including a joint gig with the also reunited Parachute Club , which were also produced by Lanois at the time. In a press release about the reunion, Johnson stated that the band would record new material, but this has not yet been realized.
Discography
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Albums
- 1979: Metro Music
- 1980: Trance and Dance
- 1981: This Is the Ice Age
- 1983: Danseparc
- 1984: Mystery Walk
- 1985: The World Is a Ball
- 1987: Far Away in Time (compilation)
- 1992: Modern Lullaby
- 1998: Then Again: A Retrospective
- 2010: Delicate
Singles
- 1980: Echo Beach
- 1980: Paint By Number Heart
- 1981: Women Around the World at Work
- 1982: Swimming
- 1982: Danseparc (Everyday It's Tomorrow)
- 1984: Black Stations / White Stations
- 1984: Cooling the Medium
- 1986: Song in My Head